A 68-year-old Tokeneke man sent almost $2,800 to a man who called him up, claimed to be an IRS agent and demanded that the money be wired immediately to resolve a tax problem.
Darien police gave this account of the incident:
At about 10 a.m. on Wednesday, April 9, the man, a resident of East Trail in Darien, received a call from (203) 239-6612. A man on the line with a heavy Indian accent identified himself as "Nick Ray" and said he was an IRS agent calling to get tax money owed to the federal government.
The scammer said the victim owed thousands of dollars to the government, and that the victim would be arrested and sent to prison if a payment of $2,797 wasn't made immediately.
The alarmed Darien man asked how he could resolve the problem and was told he should go to CVS and buy "Green Dot" money-back cards. The man bought three separate cards which added up to the amount the scammer said was owed.
The victim then gave the scammer numbers for each of the cards so that the caller could remove the money from the account.
Later that day, thinking about the matter further, the victim decided to tell police about it. As he was talking to a police officer, the victim received another phone call from the same number.
The police officer answered the call, but didn't identify himself as a law enforcement official. The officer asked the caller for his name, but the caller refused to give it. After the officer identified himself as a police officer to the caller, the caller told the officer that the matter was none of his concern.
After the officer asked the caller for his name several more times, the man cursed and ended the phone call.
The IRS says it will never ask over the phone or by email for credit card number, prepaid debit cards or wire transfers. Initial IRS communications discussing money owed to the federal government are mailed. Last October, the IRS issued a news release describing calls very similar to the one in which the Darien man lost his money.
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